Top Shelf: A Seacroft Novel Read online

  Martin watched her as she gazed at the painting. Compared to the depth and feeling her drawings upstairs conveyed, this was much more rudimentary—a single red rose on a white canvas—but the way Cassidy looked at it, he could feel the whole story.

  “We just found a topic for your essay.”

  “This?”

  “I think so.” Martin smiled, excitement growing inside him. If he knew about any topic, it was being seen and having your work recognized for its inherent value, even years after the fact. He could help Cassidy with this.

  Cassidy frowned at the painting. “But I’m supposed to tell them about how good I am. No one would accept me based on this painting.”

  Martin shook his head. “You’ve got the portfolio to show them that. The essay is about who you are, what your work ethic is like, and why you’re passionate about what you do. Try to explain how you felt when you were painting this, and why it was so important to you that people see it. Talk about how creating things makes you feel. I bet you they’ll like it.”

  A slow grin spread on her face. “Do you think so?”

  “You don’t have to pretend to be anything you’re not,” he said. “They’ll see how much your skill has grown. Everyone has to start somewhere. Tell them how you felt when you found something you knew you could be good at.”

  Cassidy’s smile grew the whole time he spoke. She pulled her backpack off her shoulders and rummaged through it until she pulled out a laptop.

  “Can I work here a bit? I can start and you can tell if you think it’s good?”

  Martin checked his watch. His shift would be over in just a few minutes, but it wasn’t as if he had any other plans.

  “Sure.”

  Cassidy took the flower painting and the laptop to one of the couches and hunched over, tongue peeking out between her lips as she booted up the screen. Martin watched, feeling a little thrill that she’d liked his suggestion.

  He locked up the shop and went to the back to throw out the last of a pot of coffee he’d made earlier. He wasn’t sure how late Cassidy would stay, so he wandered the shelves, looking for something new to read.

  “Hey.” Seb’s voice behind him was so unexpected that Martin yipped. He turned to find Seb with his hands in his pockets and a sly grin on his face.

  Martin returned the smile. “You’re going to have to show me how you pop out of nowhere like that,” he said, as his racing heart slowed. “The first time I saw you back here I thought you were a ghost.”

  Seb’s teeth flashed as his smile spread. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick out at odd angles. The motion exposed the soft skin under his arm, just below the sleeve of his faded T-shirt. There was a freckle halfway to his elbow.

  “Are you closing up?” he asked.

  “Just locked the door.”

  “What are you doing tonight?”

  Martin paused his contemplation of that freckle. “Tonight?”

  “Yeah. Or now, rather? The store’s closed. Sun’s going down, so it’s night, or evening at least. What are you doing now?”

  The base of Seb’s neck started to go pink. The slow blush made Martin’s ears warm and his breath speed up.

  “I was going to read a book.” He pulled a book at random off the closest shelf. When Seb laughed gently, Martin checked the title. The PMS Diet. He fumbled the book and slid it back in its place.

  “Want to go out for dinner?”

  Martin blinked. “Dinner?”

  “Yeah.” Seb rubbed the back of his neck, and Martin suppressed a shiver. “Out. Not just takeout. I owe you a better experience than that godawful brunch with Kenneth last weekend and—”

  “Oh.” Martin’s heart sank. “I can’t. Not tonight. Cassidy’s here. She’s working on her essay, and I think we’re getting somewhere with it, so I said she could stay.”

  “Oh.” Seb’s smile went tight. “That’s good. Maybe tomorrow then?”

  Something wasn’t being said. Asking if Seb’s dinner invitation was more than friendly was stupid, and anyway—“I can’t tomorrow either. I’m meeting Penny.”

  “Penny?” Seb’s pale brows knitted together.

  “She’s helping to plan the blues festival?” When Seb’s expression didn’t clear, Martin explained. “They’re hosting an event here. I’m the MC. I still think that’s a terrible idea, but they won’t let me back out. Penny’s coming by to help me practice my speech. I thought you knew about the event, though. You’re going to come, right?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.” Seb laughed, but Martin wasn’t sure what was funny. “Don’t worry about dinner. I’ll catch you some other time.” He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Martin to wonder what had just happened. He’d said the wrong thing somewhere, and he wasn’t totally sure how or what.

  He was pretty sure, though, that Seb had tried to ask him out on a date.

  10

  Seb stayed up all night the following night working on a new project. The Alice in Wonderland Martin found was the perfect final piece—especially the illustrations—for his Schiller submission. He pulled each out carefully and set them aside.

  When he was small, his grandmother had taken him to see a stage production of Alice. He’d been so enthralled that, afterwards, he’d demanded she read it to him. He’d never been much of a reader, but each of Alice’s encounters conjured up images of the play, and so he’d endured the words. The illustrations were a magical reprieve. He’d made his grandmother pause while he’d inspected each one carefully.

  The painstaking work of building his new piece provided a distraction from the mortifying memory of stumbling through an attempt to ask Martin on a date, and then getting obliviously shot down because he’d been too scared to actually say what he’d meant. He didn’t know how to be around Martin. He didn’t want to frighten him when, if he were anyone else, Seb would have pushed him up against a wall and kissed him. So he’d tried a softer approach, which backfired spectacularly. And Martin had shot him down to help Cassidy with the essay she didn’t need to write, and then so he could plan do-good community events.

  Seb fell into an exhausted sleep a little after the sun came up.

  He woke up again after noon, stomach growling. Since Martin hadn’t picked up on what he was asking, Seb had forgone dinner in favor of sulking in his apartment, so he hadn’t eaten in more than twenty-four hours. He slunk out of bed and took a quick shower before making his way downstairs to forage.

  Unfamiliar voices echoed in the bookstore.

  “So we’re going to put a bar here.”

  “Won’t that create a bottleneck with people coming in?”

  Seb came around the corner of the last shelf to find Martin holding crystal. Seb also recognized Penny from the diner next door, and he’d seen the older woman around town. She had an arm over Martin’s shoulders. The familiar gesture made unexpected jealousy tighten in Seb’s gut.

  “So we’ll put it over there.” Penny’s eyes widened as she spotted Seb. “Where did you come from?”

  “He does that.” Martin gave him a soft smile that made little pins and needles prick along his scalp, and his earlier jealousy blew away like smoke on a breeze. “Seb, this is Penny and her mother, Carol Anne.”

  “Well, since you’re here.” Carol Anne came across the room to slip a hand under Seb’s elbow and tow him back toward Martin. Not that Seb needed much encouragement on that front. “Help move this table so we can see if putting the bar over there is going to be a problem. Martin, take the other end.”

  Martin put the vase down on the counter by the door and hurried to obey. It was all a bit silly. There was no reason Seb couldn’t lift the table by himself, except that with help, he was able to move it without disturbing the pyramid of books stacked on it. As they set the table down, Martin’s gray eyes locked with Seb’s.

  “Penny, honey. Go pretend you’re standing in line.”

  Penny cleared her throat as she came to stand in front of them. The sound made Mar
tin blink, and Seb shivered as their connection dissolved. Apparently, his awkward prom date routine from the night before was not enough to deter his interest.

  “Yes, hello.” Did Penny curtsy? Her curly hair bobbed as she did it. “I’m parched. Do either of you know how to make a gin fizz? Or what about a Tom Collins? How about a Moscow Mule?”

  The shop’s front door swung open, and the doorknob caught Seb at the bottom of his spine. He grunted as he was pushed forward. The table rattled, and the books collapsed in a heap.

  “Hello? What’s going on?”

  Mrs. Green stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. Her pink lips were pressed into an angry line as she eyed Carol Anne.

  “Hello, Diana!” Carol Anne didn’t look the least bit ruffled by Mrs. Green’s death glare. “We’re just making the final plans for the blues night.”

  “Blues night?” Mrs. Green’s thinly plucked eyebrows arched, and the sparkling periwinkle butterfly clipped to her hair fluttered ominously. “What blues night?”

  “We discussed this. The school’s jazz trio is going to play.”

  “In the bookstore?”

  Carol Anne’s confident smile faltered. “Yes. It’s a ticketed event. We’ve almost sold out.”

  “I don’t remember anything about it.” Mrs. Green waved a hand in dismissal. “All community events in the shop need to be approved by me, and I do not remember approving anything like this.”

  “Maybe if you ever bothered to read any of the emails I sent—”

  “I never saw any emails.”

  Carol Anne’s face flushed. Seb glanced at Martin, who returned his gaze nervously.

  “It’s been planned for months,” Penny said, coming to stand by her mother. “We’ve been by a few times. Martin has been a huge help.”

  Mrs. Green’s gaze swung around to Martin, and he blanched.

  “You agreed to this?” she said.

  “I thought—”

  “You do not have the authority to make those decisions. You are my employee.” Her eyes narrowed further, turning mean. Martin swallowed, and Seb’s heart started to pound a warning. He’d seen that look on Martin’s face too many times. More often than not, Seb caused it, but here he could help instead.

  “Mrs. Green.” He stepped in front of her. She blinked, like she hadn’t even seen him until that moment.

  “Oh. Hello, Sebastian.”

  He smiled at her, the way he knew she liked. “The idea of a blues night is elegant, don’t you think? We were just discussing where to put the bar. It’s going to be quite the event.”

  “That may be.” She tapped one well-manicured hand on the back of the other. “But the fact is that I was not consulted when these plans were made. The bookstore is mine, and while I’m happy to let community groups use the space—”

  Behind him, Carol Anne made an exasperated noise, and Penny cleared her throat. Seb didn’t acknowledge them. His landlady was idiosyncratic. Despite her dusty, cavernous bookstore, she liked shiny things which gave her a certain status. Seb kept his attention on her, feeling like a snake charmer. If he looked away, the spell might be broken, and she’d turn her venom back on Martin.

  “But just think about it. It’s a ticketed event. Very exclusive. And Carol Anne said it’s nearly sold out, so you know people are looking forward to see what the venue has to offer.”

  “And a fundraiser,” Penny spoke up. “We’ll be donating part of the money raised to the Seacroft Food Bank, on behalf of the organizing committee.”

  Mrs. Green tilted her head, like she was considering this. Seb plowed forward.

  “And to increase the bookstore’s contribution, I’m donating a piece of my work to a silent auction.”

  “You are?” Mrs. Green asked.

  “You are?” Carol Anne said.

  Seb risked a quick glance over his shoulder to wink at her.

  “Of course. It’s part of the reason the event has been so popular.”

  “Yeah, sorry, Mom,” Penny said. “Seb and I talked about that. Guess I forgot to mention it to you.” Penny was quick on her feet. Seb had to admire that.

  “So you see, the bookstore is playing a critical part in this campaign. The organizing committee is very grateful for your participation. The donation from the silent auction is sure to be significant.” He was winning. Her arms were still crossed, but her long nails had stopped their tapping.

  “A donation?” she said.

  “A large one.”

  “Well.” Mrs. Green fiddled with the buttons of her soft pink cardigan. “If there’s going to be a donation, it would only make sense for me to present the check to the food bank.”

  Seb had to blink to keep from rolling his eyes. Someone, Penny maybe, coughed to smother a laugh.

  “Well actually, Bruce Goodwin, as chair of the festival board, will—” Carol Anne’s comment was cut off with a soft squeak, like someone, also probably Penny, had pinched her.

  “I’m sure some kind of arrangement can be made.” Sebastian’s face was frozen into his permanent grin. He took a step back and wrapped an arm around Martin’s shoulders. The other man inhaled and stiffened against him, but Seb kept smiling. “And of course, Martin will be donating his time to organize the event, and he’ll be the MC. Dr. Lindsey takes the stage!”

  The bookstore descended into silence. They were all holding their collective breaths. Seb nearly swallowed his tongue when Martin slid one hand to rest in the space between Seb’s shoulder blades. His smile relaxed, and he pulled Martin closer until the professor’s surprisingly solid body was pressed along his side. The urge to pull him all the way in was almost painful, but now wasn’t the time.

  Mrs. Green’s eyes narrowed again, and Martin shrank back, but Seb held his ground, keeping them both where they were, shoulder to shoulder.

  “I’d like to make a speech,” she said finally. “Thanking everyone for coming and for their donations.”

  Penny stepped forward and shook Mrs. Green’s hand.

  “Of course! I’m sure everyone would enjoy that, wouldn’t they, Mom?”

  Seb glanced behind him in time to see Carol Anne give a tight-lipped smile.

  “Of course they would,” she said.

  “Then it’s settled. This will be delightful. Sebastian,” Mrs. Green held out a hand toward him, “thank you so much for organizing all of this. I’m sure with your involvement, it will be a memorable evening.”

  Sebastian shook her hand as Carol Anne sighed. “Oh yes. He’s been instrumental since the beginning.”

  When Mrs. Green had left, the four of them all let out a long exhale.

  “What just happened?” Martin asked.

  “A silent auction?” Carol Anne said.

  “That’s actually a really good idea.” Penny giggled.

  Seb beamed at them all. “You’re welcome.”

  “Did you really plan this whole thing without asking her?” Martin was still pressed against Seb’s side and showed no inclination to step away. The pressure of his hand on Seb’s back was pleasantly distracting.

  Carol Anne snorted. “Of course not. It’s not my fault she doesn’t pay attention at committee meetings. Honestly, I don’t know why we still let her come to those things, but we’re always short of board members so…” She shrugged. “We passed a list of events around back at the beginning of the summer. She was there. I remember because I expected her to make some kind of demand like today, but she didn’t say a thing. She’s just being spiteful.”

  “Spiteful?” Martin asked.

  “Didn’t Penny tell you?”

  “Tell them what?” Penny sounded just as confused as Seb felt.

  “Don’t you know where she gets her money from? It’s not from selling used books, that’s for sure.”

  “She’s hoarding her treasure deep inside her cave?” Penny asked. Beside Seb, Martin laughed softly, the sound vibrating through Seb’s arm. His toes curled inside his shoes. He needed Carol Anne and Penny to leave so he
could pull Martin deep into the shelves and kiss him silly, his earlier plans to take things slow be damned.

  “Mrs. Green is the single biggest property owner in Seacroft,” Carol Anne said. “She owns every building on this street except the diner. I heard she wanted to buy that too, at the same time you and Tim did. She was going to open up a cute little coffee shop next to her bookstore. It would have made it a real destination.”

  “That was her?” Penny said. “She drove the sale price on the building through the roof! I thought Tim was going to have a heart attack before we signed the purchase agreement.”

  “I don’t think she ever forgave you two for buying it out from under her.” Carol Anne sniffed as she glanced out the window.

  “A dragon never forgets,” Penny murmured ominously.

  “That’s an elephant, honey.”

  When Penny and Carol Anne left, Martin collapsed on the couch, and Seb sank next to him. “Sorry about the ‘Dr. Lindsey on stage’ thing. I know you’re nervous about that part.”

  “It’s okay. I couldn’t be any more nervous than I was right before you said that.” Martin ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in fluffy clumps. “I thought for sure she was going to fire me.”

  “Speaking up for yourself really isn’t part of your skill set, is it?” Seb clenched his fists to keep from smoothing the hair down. Martin winced and gave him a sad smile, which made Seb laugh. He slipped his arm over Martin’s shoulder again. “I argue with everyone. Stick with me, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  “Thanks. It’s been a while since someone’s stood up for me like that.”

  The admission made Seb’s heart twist. That right there was why he couldn’t drag Martin into the stacks for a quick grope. He needed more than that. He deserved more than that.

  “We can look out for each other.” Seb made his smile look as innocent and angelic as possible.

  Martin laughed, and his head lolled on the back of the couch until it was turned to Seb. “You don’t need someone to stand up for you. I’ve seen you do it.”